Chapter 3 #4
She continued to work on the prince for the next ten minutes until sweat beaded her forehead.
The fall weather was mild, and the sea brought a cool breeze, but it took a lot out of her to heal.
While she was already advanced with her skills, her power reserves weren’t deep yet.
That took years to build. It didn’t help that she’d already depleted some of her energy helping me with the wards at the townhouse.
She sat back, panting. “I closed the wound in his side and on his thigh.” She gave the prince an apologetic look. “Sorry, I wish I could get the burn wound too, but I have nothing left.”
“You have done far more than I expected for one your age,” he said, giving her a kind look. Then Armin turned his gaze to me. “So this is the girl who precipitated your marriage to Darrow?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
For Rynn, I’d do it all again.
“I think I understand your motives a little better now.” He struggled to stand, so I took his arm on his good side to help him up. “You’re both remarkable ladies.”
Darrow and the others appeared just then. Something in my mate’s eyes told me I should step away from the prince, so I moved back a few feet. His gaze tracked me like a lethal predator. Was he jealous, even in this state?
“Come with me,” he said, voice almost a growl.
I drew in a deep breath and followed him away from the others toward a line of trees about a hundred feet from us.
During our trek, I reminded myself I was safe.
He wouldn’t hurt me. Just last night, he’d saved me when I was beaten and badly broken.
Armin had also said he continued to worry about me even while in this state of rage. That counted for something, right?
Staring at his large, muscular back and feeling the raw power emanating from him made it hard to believe, though. The elf could break me with a mere thought before realizing his mistake. The level of magic running through him was more than a little daunting.
As soon as he reached the trees, he turned to face me. “I’ve worked out an agreement with Prime Chief Orran for you all to stay here, but Jax, Loden, and I must depart soon.”
I frowned. That hadn’t been what I expected him to say at all.
“Where will you go?” I asked.
“The princess and her family are in danger as well.” He worked his jaw and clenched his fists. “I don’t like leaving you here, but this is the safest place for you and the others until I return. Rest and recover, as I will likely need you again soon.”
I didn’t ask to go with him. My body was still too weak, so I’d only be a liability. “Okay, is there anything I can do from here?”
“As soon as you have enough strength, I need you to open a portal to Hartoll for me. I already know the rune sequence,” he said, taking a step closer.
Danger lurked in his glowing gray gaze, but something told me he was fighting his dark mood. I held my ground. It wasn’t easy to do with him looking at me like that. “Which part of Hartoll?”
It would make a difference in the amount of energy I required, since it was a vast northern land.
I knew that many years ago, the princess married the lord who ruled there, but I had no idea where they’d be at the moment.
They had several homes they used depending on the weather, but since it was fall, any of them could be in use.
“It’s a portal in the forest near Manndir. As a precaution, I dare not arrive closer than that.” He closed the distance between us and put a firm hand behind my neck. “How much longer do you need before you can send us there?”
I gulped because his nearness was terrifying, yet oddly thrilling at the same time. There was something utterly possessive in his posture. “An hour?”
“My self-control is lacking at the moment,” he said, face so close his breath fanned across me, and his loose brown-black hair lightly grazed my cheeks. “I know I should stay far from you right now.”
“Would you hurt me?”
He let out a dark chuckle. “Not in the way you mean, dear wife, but you are in no shape to handle what I want to do to you at the moment.”
My breath hitched as my imagination ran wild with the implication. By all rights, I should be deathly afraid of Darrow right now, but when he’d touched me this time, I hadn’t felt the same fear as earlier. The way he behaved was entirely different now.
“How long will you be gone?” I asked in a breathy voice.
“At least a day, but if I meet resistance, then it could be two or more.”
I licked my lips, and he watched the motion closely. “Please be careful.”
“The power coursing through me means I can take greater risks than usual, but I still retain the logic to be strategic. Knowing you’ll be waiting for me will give me the incentive to return whole. Make certain you rest, so that I need not hold back.”
Damn him, that I looked forward to whatever he’d do, no matter how rough. “Will you still be like this?”
“I don’t know.” His hand tightened on my neck through my hair. “But I assure you that I won’t hurt you in any way you won’t enjoy.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
Darrow responded by crushing his lips to mine. His skin was blazing hot, but I didn’t care as our tongues clashed together. One of his hands kept hold of my head while the other grasped my hip. He kissed me like he was marking me as his and making sure I didn’t forget it.
Yet, surprisingly, he was careful with how he held me so that he didn’t cause my still-recovering body any harm.
The restraint he showed despite his state of mind was impressive.
I clung to his muscular arms for support as he continued ravaging my mouth for long minutes until I nearly forgot my weakness and exhaustion.
Finally, he pulled away. “Don’t forget who you belong to, Aella.”
I pulled from his grasp, confidence surging.
“My body might respond to yours.” I gave him a defiant look. “But you’ll have to earn the right to everything else, and I won’t make it easy.”
“I do love a good challenge, dear wife.”